Kings need Kopitar's drought to end, and soon

A frustrated Anze Kopitar has just three shots on goal - and zero points - in the first two games of the series against the Blackhawks. BRIAN CASSELLA, MCT

EL SEGUNDO – Scoring slumps are nothing new for Anze Kopitar. The only question is: does he have enough time to break out of this one? The Kings' Stanley Cup defense hangs in the balance, perilously.

The Kings trail Chicago, 2-0, in the best-of-7 Western Conference finals. A loss in Game 3 Tuesday night at Staples Center would be a dagger. To get back in this series, the Kings need more offense. Anyone is invited to contribute to the cause, but most of all, the pressure is on Kopitar for an improved effort.

Kopitar, the Kings' first-line center, has been playing in this series, just not noticeably so. In 39 minutes, 24 seconds of ice time, Kopitar has recorded zero points and a paltry total of three shots on goal.

"I'm sure he's frustrated,'' Kings coach Darryl Sutter said Monday. "We've spent a lot of time together talking about stuff, working on stuff and trying to find little areas that he can do differently or do better. I don't lose any sleep over Kopi. He's not a guy who takes shortcuts. He does everything he can to do well.''

The Kings didn't practice Monday, and Kopitar was not one of the players made available for comment, but his two linemates were, and they did their best to shoulder some of Kopitar's burden.

Dustin Brown said the line, which also includes Justin Williams, has been "collectively in a slump,'' but that's not quite fair. Williams scored two crucial goals in Game 7 against San Jose in the second round, and Brown was recently moved back up from the third line.

Kopitar, as the Kings' regular season-leading scorer, needs to do more, especially since the Kings again figure to be without center Mike Richards, who is dealing with concussion symptoms. Sutter offered no update on Richards on Monday.

That leaves a huge scoring void, both at even-strength and on the power play, and Kopitar will need to be better. Thus far, he has been suffocated in the neutral zone by the quick, aggressive Blackhawks. Kopitar is usually deft with the puck on his stick, but it's tougher to make plays while hounded by two defenders.

''When Kopi has the puck, he's a top player in the league,'' Sutter said. ''When he doesn't have the puck, he's a good checker. We want him to be more than a good checker, so that means he needs to have the puck more. Quite honestly, he can support the puck better.''

Is Kopitar hurt? Worn down by the lockout-driven condensed regular-season schedule? He failed to score a goal in the Kings' final 16 regular-season games, and has only two goals in 15 playoff games.

Of course, something similar happened last year. Late in the regular season, and early in the playoffs, Kopitar went 12 consecutive games without a goal. He then scored eight goals in the next 17 games.

Is this the time for a breakout? The Kings are 7-0 at home in these playoffs and have won 14 consecutive home games. In the playoffs, they've scored 18 goals, compared to 11 goals in eight road games.

"It's not going to be easy, obviously, and we can't expect to win just because we're on home ice,'' center Colin Fraser said. ''We've got to be ready to go and we've got to get back in the series.''

It's a tough one to predict. The teams are playing for the third time in four nights, so who will feel more fatigue? The Kings should be the more desperate team and will retain confidence. In the first round against St. Louis, they trailed, 2-0, then won four consecutive games, so this is familiar ground. Sutter's message?

"Stay within ourselves,'' Sutter said. "It doesn't matter if we're up two or down two. You know what? The other team knows they're going to have their hands full.''

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